Starc took a five-fer. Therefore Sri Lanka were pretty much ****ed no matter how moronic Clarke's declaration was, and this one was about as moronic as you can get without reading some of the past few posts in this thread.

With your being able to reduce the timing of declarations down to pure mathematics, are you thinking of taking on the Vegas tables a la Rain Man?

Last edited by Burgey; 18-12-2012 at 03:28 AM.

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Starc took a five-fer. Therefore Sri Lanka were pretty much ****ed no matter how moronic Clarke's declaration was, and this one was about as moronic as you can get without reading some of the past few posts in this thread.

getting to self parody now.

Originally Posted by Jimmy Neesham

Root always sets up the innings well. It's nice having BJ down the order to finish the innings off.

Starc took a five-fer. Therefore Sri Lanka were pretty much ****ed no matter how moronic Clarke's declaration was, and this one was about as moronic as you can get without reading some of the past few posts in this thread.

Good lawd

Originally Posted by mudrunner

give 21yo smith a break. bradmans figures for his first few tests were comparable.....

Getting to 550 at the rate Wade and Hussey were going would've been easy.

I don't think enforcing the follow on would have been a good idea, but having extra runs would've meant less time was necessary in Aus's second innings and just less mucking around in general.

It worked out in the end, but that doesn't mean it was the best decision.

I'll show you the logic - they won. In the final session. Honestly, what other logic could anyone ask for in a sport where winning is the objective? I agree it doesn't make it the best decision, but to call the declaration moronic or anything else is beyond comprehension.

Although this Scaly bloke is sticking to his guns in being the posting equivalent of Ashley Giles bowling to a leg stump line with five men on the boundary. Good on him.

Didn't see the game today but how long was left at the end to force the win?

Would batting on for another 100 have left them short of time etc...

Not really.

Instead of being bowled out for 278 in their second innings the Aussies may have instead declared at 150-200 in order to give themselves enough time during Day 4-5 to bowl the Sri Lankans out a second time.

Therefore, I can see where SP is coming from. A declaration during the first innings is pretty strange, and especially strange when it's made between lunch and tea with a bunch of wickets still in hand.

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Originally Posted by watson

Not really.

Instead of being bowled out for 278 in their second innings the Aussies may have instead declared at 150-200 in order to give themselves enough time during Day 4-5 to bowl the Sri Lankans out a second time.

You mean allowing the Sri Lankans less time in the field leading up to the final innings? Well...

Lets face it, there is only one non Sri Lankan who thinks Clarke did the wrong thing. The Sri Lankan fans might think the game may have gone differently and might have been saved if they batted on till 600 etc...

He'll never change his mind, Clarke made his 2nd brave call in a few months and has got both right. Have to give him huge credit for that as it takes bollocks to do it as if it goes wrong you get slaughtered for it.

Whether or not it was right or wrong, I agree with what someone else said earlier in this thread that Clarke's captaincy has been enjoyable. He's made a number of calls that I can't really see any other current international captains making, and they often pay off. I certainly didn't expect him to be such a positive captain but I'm loving it.

Originally Posted by flibbertyjibber

Only a bunch of convicts having been beaten 3-0 and gone 9 tests without a win and won just 1 in 11 against England could go into the home series saying they will win. England will win in Australia again this winter as they are a better side which they have shown this summer. 3-0 doesn't lie girls.